English

Is it permissible to fast on the birthday of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) on the basis of the hadeeth in Saheeh Muslim, al-Nasaa’i and Abu Dawood, which says that when he (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was asked about fasting on Mondays, he said: “That is the day on which I was born…” Also on the basis of this hadeeth, is it permissible for a person to fast on the day on which he was born, following thereby the example of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)? Please explain.

English

It is well known that celebrating the prophets birthday is an innovation, A lot of people have Mawlids, but not to celebrate the prophets birthday but to teach about the prophet his life and so on so forth. If the event is not taking place on the prophets birthday is it still considered haram? Is it just the use of the word mawlid that causes the event to be considered haram? for example if I were to teach about the prophets life etc... but not associate the word Mawlid to it would it still be considered haram? In the same event people would be fed etc... I ask this because a wedding dinner will be held in the upcoming weekend on Saturday and since there will be a gathering of people the hosts decided to teach about the prophet after the dinner in the masjid. They called it a mawlid but neither does it fall on the day the prophet was born nor used to celebrate the birth of the prophet but instead to teach about the prophet. They are doing this instead of having dancing etc... so that people would benefit more from learning about the life of the prophet. Please advise. Secondly, If I were to have a gathering at the mosque just to teach about the life of the prophet and provide food to those who attend would this be considered haram?.

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Is it haram to eat the special sweets made for the occasion of the prophet’s Birthday, a day before or after or on the same day? What is the ruling on buying these sweets especially that this type of sweets is related only to this occasion?.

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In our local masjid they do competitions in different religious occasions such as (Ramadaan, the mawlid “birthday” of the prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and so on) and they give prizes. Is it permissible to accept such prizes?.

English

Is it permissible to eat food that is distributed on the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)? Some people quote as evidence the idea that because Abu Lahb set free a slave woman on the birthday of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), Allaah reduced the torment for him on that day.

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On every last Sunday of the month, we get together with a group of 30 or more sisters and each of us reads two or three hizb (portions of Qur’aan) until we complete the Holy Qur’aan in one and a half or two hours. We have been told that this will count – in sha Allaah – as a completion of the Qur’aan for each one of us. Is that correct? After that we make du’aa’ and ask Allaah to give the reward for our reading to the rest of the believers, living and dead. Will the reward reach the dead? They quote as evidence for that the words of our master Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): “When a man dies, all his good deeds come to an end except three: ongoing charity, beneficial knowledge or a righteous son who will pray for him.” On the festival of the Prophet’s birthday (al-mawlid al-nabawi), they hold a ribaat (vigil) which starts at 10 a.m. and lasts until 3 p.m. They start with prayers for forgiveness, praise of Allaah, tasbeeh and takbeer, and sending blessings upon our master Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) silently, then they read the Qur’aan, and some sisters fast on that day. Is singling out this day for all these acts of worship regarded as an innovation (bid’ah)? We also have a lengthy du’aa’ seeking blessing that we say at the time of suhoor, for those who are able to say it. It is called du’aa’ al-raabitah. It starts by sending blessings and salaams upon our master Muhammad and his party and the other Prophets, and the Mothers of the Believers, and the female companions of the Prophet, the Rightly Guided Caliphs, the Taabi’een, and the righteous close friends (awliya’) of Allaah, mentioning each of them by name. Is it correct that mentioning all these names will make their owners recognize us and call out to us in Paradise? Is this du’aa’ an innovation? I feel that it is, but most of the sisters disagree with me. Will I be punished by Allaah if I am wrong? How can I convince them if I am correct? This matter is making me lose sleep and every time I remember the hadeeth of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) which says that every newly-invented matter is an innovation and every innovation is a going-astray, and every going-astray will be in the Fire, my worry and grief get even worse.

English

My sister-in-law will be getting married soon. She is worried about the type of boy she can get married to. To be specific, she has asked me whether it is valid to get married to a person who is a strong supporter of the Mawlid or Milad-un-Nabi practice? I do understand that this practice itself is an innovation in Islam. However, the difficulty is whether one can get married to such people who practice Mawlid. In New XXX, the people involved in this practice, do this as an act of worship. People would be invited to attend this ceremony where various hadith are read, songs are sung and dua is made. People actually stand and sing! I hope this is the practice the fatwaa on your site refers to. The question is whether one can marry those who do this practice? The more difficult question and the one I am afraid to ask is whether these people are Muslims? Sheikh, you do not have to answer the second one if it is not wise to?

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What is the Islamic ruling on taking part in some annual celebrations and occasions, such at the International Day of the Family, the International Day for Disabled People, the International Year of Older Persons. Also what is the ruling on taking part in some religious celebrations such as al-Israa’ wa’l-Mi’raaj (the anniversary of the Prophet’s Night Journey and ascent into the heavens), al-Mawlid al-Nabawi (Prophet’s Birthday) and al-Hijrah (anniversary of the Prophet’s migration), by preparing leaflets or holding lectures and Islamic conferences for the purposes of reminding and exhorting the people (about their religion)?

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I live in the u.s. and am employed with a retail clothing company that has two end-of-year traditions effecting its employees. 1.Issuance of a \”christmas\” bonus in an amount determined by salary and company sales performance. 2.An allotment of $50 to be used for, or towards a \”holiday\” meal of their choosing. Are these actions considered unacceptable gifts?.

English

What do you say to Muslims in the United Kingdom who celebrate at Christmas time by holding dinner parties in their houses on Christmas or afterwards, for their Muslim families, such as preparing roast turkey and the other dishes of the traditional Christmas dinner, and they adorn their houses with balloons and paper chains, and they do the “secret Santa” tradition, whereby each relative brings a gift for one of the people present and these gifts are brought to the party to be given to the one for whom he bought it, without the recipient knowing who he is. [“Secret Santa” is a new, growing custom among non-Muslims who celebrate Christmas, and is in accordance with their belief in the myth of Santa Claus]. Is this action regarded as halaal or haraam, if no one is attending this party except Muslims (relatives and family members)?.

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In Australia during christmas there are huge discounts on things like clothing, furniture, electronics etc. is it permisible to shop to get this discount which is generally not available during other part of the year?.

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This is a message that I have seen a lot on the Internet, but in fact I have not sent it to anyone because I am not sure if it is an innovation (bid‘ah) or not. Is it permissible to spread it and will we be rewarded for doing so, or is this not permissible because it is an innovation? “In sha’ Allah, at 12 midnight on New Year’s Eve we will all pray two rak‘ahs, or read Qur’aan, or remember our Lord, or offer du‘aa’, because if our Lord looks at the Earth at a time when most of the world is disobeying Him, he will find that the Muslims are still obeying Him. By Allah, you have to send this message to everyone you know, because the more our numbers increase, the more our Lord will be pleased.” Please advise me, may Allah bless you.

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I know that congratulating the Christians and Jews for their feats is haram, as it means approving to their baatil (wrong) beliefs. Is it permissible for me to send to whom I know of them messages contain no congratulation? Like sending “ I wish you all good” or “I wish you the best” with an intention of wishing guidance for them?.

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What should one do if one’s neighbour serve one with chrismas food on the 25th of December. Should we pour away the food or should we reject it even if rejecting it can cause misunderstanding with them.